Destination: South America
South America: Sticker Shock at the Border?
by Eva Holland | 03.03.09 | 11:39 AM ET
I’ve heard more than a few stories of shoestring travelers in South America getting burned by three-digit entry fees that they didn’t see coming. Luckily, BootsnAll has come to the rescue, with this detailed breakdown of existing visa and reciprocity fees for Americans. The article also includes a few hints and (legal) workarounds to reduce the number of fees you wind up paying. Gracias!
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Yahoo! BuzzInterview With David Grann: ‘The Lost City of Z’
by Frank Bures | 03.03.09 | 10:32 AM ET
Frank Bures asks the author about exploring the Amazon, writing and the difference between real and faux quests
Chachapollas, Peru
by World Hum | 03.02.09 | 1:18 PM ET
REUTERS/Pilar Olivares People walk at the entrance of the Kuelap Fortress, 9,840 feet above sea level, in the Andean region of Chachapollas.
A Traveler’s 10 Best Musical Discoveries
by Tom Swick | 03.02.09 | 10:35 AM ET
Contemplating and celebrating the world of travel
Morning Links: A Hard-to-Find French Town, Photos of Carnival and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.24.09 | 8:55 AM ET
- Video: The Battle of the Oranges.
- A French town wants a new name that’s easier to find via search. It’s current name? Eu.
- Blog to watch: World Hum contributor Daisann McLane has launched a companion blog to her National Geographic Traveler column.
- Florida bans fish pedicures. What’s a fish pedicure? Here’s some video of McLane getting one in Malaysia.
- Photos: The Big Picture goes to Carnival.
- $28,067.31 for a “wireless session” on a cruise ship? Here’s the tale. (via Cruise Log)
- Some compelling photos of 19th- and 20th-century railway lines by Mark Ruwedel.
- Love this graphic: The most-used subway systems in the U.S and around the world.
- My obsession with travel typos continues: Here’s a look at NYC Transit’s Top Typos!
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
by World Hum | 02.23.09 | 11:10 AM ET
REUTERS/Bruno Domingos Carnival queen Jessica Maia waves to the crowd during the first night of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.
Morning Links: Mexico Travel Alert, Mardi Gras Tips and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.23.09 | 9:46 AM ET
- A bomb exploded in Cairo’s Hussein Square, killing at least one tourist.
- China has closed Tibet to international travelers in preparation for the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama’s exile.
- The Washington Post says the latest State Department travel alert for Mexico “reads like the plot of a crime thriller.”
- USA Today/Gallup poll: 58 percent of Americans “will shrink their vacation spending this year—or just not go.”
- Here’s what not to do at Mardi Gras.
- Tom Haines follows the wind in North Dakota.
- World Hum contributor David Farley will be speaking tonight at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.
- The Christian Science Monitor has more on Lucca’s ban of ethnic restaurants.
- Is a lost empire concealed in the Amazon?
- Has Atlantis been found by Google Ocean? Google says no.
- Two travel books made the pages of The New York Times Sunday Book Review: Magic Bus and The Way of Herodotus.
- Another day, another mix-up: A pass for Philly Beer Week features the skyline of New York City. Really, how could you mix ‘em up?
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World Hum’s Most Read: Feb. 14-20
by World Hum | 02.20.09 | 5:58 PM ET
Photo by Sophia Dembling Our five most popular slideshows from the past week:
1) Dipping Into the Ex-Boyfriend Archives
2) My Travels, My Feet (pictured)
3) Inside Slum Tourism
4) Hawaii: Holoholo Wale
5) Return to Nepal
And the Eco-Vacation Oscar Goes to ...
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.20.09 | 11:33 AM ET
Host Hugh Jackman and the losers! As part of a sweet “Everybody Wins at the Oscars!” deal, tour operator Lindblad Expeditions will host Jackman, all the non-winning acting nominees and best director nominees on a 10-day trip to the Galapagos, National Geographic Adventure reports.
I’m dying of jealousy, and not because I want to hang with Brangelina and the rest of the glitterati—but with the ancient tortoises and Galapagos penguins! Hope, too, that this announcement doesn’t mean a crush of paparazzi and crazed fans trampling on these fragile enchanted islands.
How about if Lindblad just sends me and my little footprints instead?
R.I.P. Conchita Cintron, Woman Matador
by Jim Benning | 02.19.09 | 11:38 AM ET
The Peruvian matador’s debut performance dates back to 1937. She died in Lisbon at the age of 86.
Leave Home Without It
by Tom Swick | 02.19.09 | 10:07 AM ET
Contemplating and celebrating the world of travel
Happy 200th Birthday, Charles Darwin
by Eva Holland | 02.13.09 | 11:00 AM ET
From "HMS Beagle at Tierra del Fuego" by Conrad Martens (via Wikipedia) 
Charles Darwin, author of the classic travel memoir The Voyage of the Beagle (oh, and that other book, too), would have turned 200 years old yesterday. To celebrate, the BBC’s David Shukman visited the Galapagos Islands, armed with a small Darwin library, and filed a series of compelling dispatches on how Darwin’s observations are holding up today.
A quick sample: “A giant frigate bird circles in the dusk sky. A lurid depiction of Charles Darwin adorns an arch outside our hotel. Once again, there’s a sea lion snoozing beside our table. It’s no longer a surprise. I must be evolving too.”
One Traveling Man’s Weak-Dollar Dating Survival Kit
by Rolf Potts | 02.13.09 | 10:09 AM ET
With superior dentistry and monolingual charm, you too can pick up women overseas. Rolf Potts gets all Maxim magazine.
The Year’s Six Best Global Pop Albums
by Ben Keene | 02.06.09 | 10:49 AM ET
REUTERS/Ints Kalnins Ben Keene wants a new category added at the Grammys: Global Pop for the Traveling Mind. Herewith, his nominees.
German Tourists Detained for Changing in Public in Brazilian Airport
by Rob Verger | 02.03.09 | 4:30 PM ET
The AP reports that two German tourists were detained in Brazil after allegedly changing their clothes in public in Salvador’s international airport. According to the AP: “Police inspector Maritta Souza said the 66-year-old man from Koenigsberg and his 64-year-old friend from Bad Bevensen said they thought it ‘was normal’ to change clothes like that in Brazil, especially in a beach city like Salvador.” The article also quotes a witness: “I went there and asked if they would like to see other people taking their clothes off in front of his wife or in front of kids,” Paulo Goes told Globo TV. “They just laughed.” (Via Today in the Sky)
The article notes, “They said that they were late for their flight and needed to change into new clothes because one of them got wet during a boat trip and the other felt sick and vomited during the same trip earlier in the day.”
Come on, folks. I can understand being late for a flight and wanting to fly in dry clothes, but still: How about a little common sense and respect? Brazil, by the way, is more conservative than stereotypes of that country suggest. While bikinis might be normal on the beach, there is no nudity—not on the beach, the street, or in an airport lobby.